Flower needs England wins to bag coaching job - Fletcher

LONDON (Reuters) - Success in England's five-match one-day series against West Indies is crucial to interim coach Andy Flower's chances of being given the role on a full time basis, former coach Duncan Fletcher said on Friday.

The England coaching role has been vacant since Peter Moores was sacked in January after his relationship with then captain Kevin Pietersen broke down.

But Flower, in the frame to take the job permanently, has not managed to turn around a barren run of form that has left England without a single victory in 14 official internationals.

"Flower may be worth a gamble. But the facts are that England have so far struggled against a pretty ordinary side in the Caribbean," Fletcher wrote in the Guardian newspaper.

"If by the end of the one-day series there are still no signs of improvement, it would feel very strange indeed to name Flower as coach."

The England and Wales Cricket board (ECB) has said it hopes to have a new coach in place in time for the home series against West Indies in May.

Fletcher said the successful candidate would need to have a proven track record, something which may disadvantage former Zimbabwe test player Flower, who has little coaching experience.

"I know Flower has worked a bit with Essex, but surely the ECB are looking for more than that," said Fletcher.

"It seems clear that he's developed a good understanding with Andrew Strauss -- and after the shenanigans with Peter Moores and Kevin Pietersen that's no bad thing -- but coaches should not be appointed because they get on with people."